December 16, 2016

You know how when you’re at a party, and there are those people who make a big show about how they’re leaving? They announce they’re making an exit, and then they spend forever dragging out their goodbyes and making sure everybody knows they’re on their way out the door? (It’s like the exact opposite of an Irish goodbye. What is that? Maybe a Brexit?)

Anyway. Nobody wants to be those people -- least of all us.

So it's time for us to go. For real.

When we started this blog nearly 9 years ago (that's our original banner at the top of this post!), the iPhone had only been around for 6 months. George W. Bush was president. Nobody had ever heard of Justin Bieber. Gourmet was publishing. Everyday Food was publishing. We’d never encountered the words ras el-hanout, Chinese five spice, mostarda or spatchcocking.

The point is, it's been a long 9-year run and a truly amazing, unforgettable experience.

After we announced a few months ago that we would be winding down soon, we received countless notes and comments from you guys wishing us well, which meant more to us than you can imagine.

One of the comments we received in particular has stuck with us, from a reader named Lu:

Hi Zach and Clay! I cannot say I am not sad about the end of your blog journey. However, in my culture, which was influenced by Buddhism over the generations, nine is the perfect number. Number nine represents a fullness and perfection in all things. So, I am rather happy for you to end this wonderful blog on its ninth year.

How great is that?! And Bittens, that's exactly how we feel after 9 years: Full. Full of wonderful memories in the kitchen together. Full of immense gratitude for you and for everyone who has read us and supported us over these years. Full of the awareness of how lucky we are to have had this incredible experience. Full of pride in this little thing we made. Full of love. And, of course, full of some really, really good food.

And it's in that spirit of fullness that now, after 9 years, 1,221 posts and 18,360 comments, it's time for us say goodbye.

We're not going away entirely. The blog and all 9 years of recipes will still be here for you to read whenever you want. You can always email us, and we'll continue to share a slice of our lives on Instagram. And if you're not already signed up on our email list, sign up now. Whatever our next adventure might be, that's how we'll let you know. Who knows what the future holds?

Our wish for you: Full pantries, full hearts, a full table and a full belly.

Now it's time for you to share a meal with your loved ones tomorrow -- whether that means a crowded house full of family, a table of friends, dinner for two at a restaurant, or even just pausing for a moment over takeout to think about friends and family you can't be with this year.

We'll be honest. In lots of ways, 2016 has been pretty terrible. Shootings that have shaken us, crises that have tried us, an election (and a result) that has bitterly divided us. Wars, refugees, Zika, bombings, Brexit, Bowie -- it's been rough. And we don't know what's going to happen in the year to come.

But know this: We -- all of us -- are exceedingly, ridiculously, unimaginably fortunate. We are here. Right now. We are alive together in this moment, and we have so, so much for which to be grateful. Tomorrow, let's all be mindful of just how fortunate we are, even in a year when that can be hard to see.

We love you, and we'll be back after Thanksgiving with some more posts.

For now, we'll leave you with some photos. Up top are portraits we took on Fakesgiving a few weeks ago. There are a couple people we didn't get a shot of, unfortunately. But it was really a special gathering of people -- from D.C., Annapolis, New York, Chicago, and even Switzerland! (Apparently, when folks know it's the final Fakesgiving, they will show up.)

Now, here's our full Fakesgiving menu, and some more shots from our feast, snapped by our friend Ken.

November 22, 2016

We were so looking forward to eating this pie. It was the first dessert we decided on for our Fakesgiving dinner. It was, we thought, an easy home run. We're miso obsessed, so throwing some miso in with apple pie? A no-brainer.

We did as the recipe suggests and made the Miso Caramel first, days in advance. And it was incredible. It was the Miso Caramel of our dreams. Sweet and savory and the kind of sauce you want to dive face-first into.

November 21, 2016

You may have noticed a conspicuous absence in our Fantasy Thanksgiving Menu that we posted last week: There was no pumpkin pie. There was no pumpkin anything.

That's not because we don't like pumpkin desserts. We do! A lot. It's just that we find it hard to get all that excited about them. With so many great dessert options -- chocolate! pecan! maple! -- it can be hard for a pumpkin pie to measure up.

November 20, 2016

So when we were browsing through this year's recipes, our eyes jumped right to Colcannon. We'd never heard of it. What, pray tell, is a Colcannon?

Turns out, it's a combination of either cabbage or kale with potatoes. We'd never seen it featured in a food magazine (or if we had, we'd never seen it called Colcannon), but we were in the market for a potato dish, and this seemed like as good a choice as any, with kale thrown in to liven up mashed potatoes.

November 18, 2016

Hasselback potatoes have been in fashion for years now. They show up on cooking shows and in food magazines, in cookbooks and on restaurant menus.

It sounds and looks fancy. But it's really just a simple knife technique, taking a vegetable, such as a potato, and slicing crosswise in close intervals down the length of the vegetable. The slices are deep but not quite all the way through, resulting in something that's often described as looking like a fan or an accordion. To us it looks like a letter holder -- you know, if people still got letters.

They were invented by Rosie O'Donnell to taunt Elizabeth Hasslebeck and the name is intentionally misspelled. (Not true, but we wish it were.)

Ina Garten popularized hasselback potatoes in American kitchens after seeing them in a prepared-food shop window in London years ago. (Bitten Word reader Jim told us this; we hope this one is true, because, duh, Contessa.)

November 15, 2016

Hundreds of you signed up and completed the Thanksgiving 2016 Pie Challenge -- we have loved reading your reviews and seeing your photos!

For those of you catching up: A few weeks ago, we asked Bittens to sign up to bake a randomly assigned pie. We had scoured the November issues of food magazines and selected 7 pies from 7 magazines -- each with a bit of a twist on traditional Thanksgiving flavors. Readers had one week to bake and rate their pies and submit their results.

We've tallied up the responses. Below, you can review the pies ranked worst to best by the Bitten Bakers themselves. There are some real surprises in the results -- and some pies we really want to try.

To all of you bakers who participated, thank you! We hope you had a ton of fun and maybe got inspired or excited for Thanksgiving cooking. We've compiled some of your comments here Zagat-style, but we'd love for you to share more of your experience in the comments!

Bitten Bakers "loved the Pate Brisee” in this “fun twist on the traditional Pecan Pie.” But the final results are “VERY rich” and “VERY sweet.” Plus, it's “hard to find Lyle’s Golden Syrup.” One tip: “For heaven’s sake, don’t omit the cayenne. The pie needs it.” You may be happier if you "stick with your favorite pecan pie" instead.